


The Lives We Lead

by danvssomethingorother



Category: The Venture Bros
Genre: Brock yanks one of Rusty's teeth out, M/M, Rusty becomes successful and a villain, Some mentions of blood, request fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-06
Updated: 2018-10-06
Packaged: 2019-07-27 08:36:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,410
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16215410
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/danvssomethingorother/pseuds/danvssomethingorother
Summary: An AU in which right out of college Rusty and Brock run away together and the origins of how their lives lead to villainy.





	The Lives We Lead

**Author's Note:**

  * For [fannishcodex](https://archiveofourown.org/users/fannishcodex/gifts).



> The original Request was: 
> 
> Mirrorverse!AU where Rusty and Brock became villains not long after college and never went the Protagonist route. (Because honestly the first Brock thought I had over that S7 finale was Mirror!Villain!Brock along with Rusty being the Supervillain that Killinger believes he should have been.)

“Are you coming with me?”

Rusty didn’t answer him, taking a few quick puffs from his bong before setting it aside, he didn’t look at the large blonde man instead keeping his eyes on his text book. If he left his thesis meant nothing, if he stayed it meant everything. He opened the science book his father himself had written and just stared at the man who controlled so much of his life smiling brightly back at him from the introduction page. 

Large fingers covered over that smile as Brock forced the book down forcing Rusty to look at him.

“Babe, I can’t do this without you.”

Rusty stared him in the eyes and finally sighed shrugging.

“Is that a yes?” 

Rusty didn’t answer, he just leaned forward and pressed a gentle kiss against Brock’s lips and the larger man smirked pressing him against the mattress and deepening the kiss.

\---

Rusty had been in many, many, many uncomfortable situations in his life, but there was just something that struck a primal fear seeing someone he loved and trusted so much looming over him like this. Pinning him gently but firmly against the mattress with his thighs pinned tight against his sides and a pair of plyers in his hands. 

“Just breathe Rust,” Brock sighed out just as nervous himself glancing at the plyers in his hand, “I’m just gonna yank it out and then we can leave.”

“This is easy for you to say,” Rusty sneered back at him breathing picking up just staring at the plyers, “No one is using plyers to yank your damn teeth out!”

“One, just the one damn tooth,” Brock sneered back correcting him.

“Do you know which one??”

“Second molar on the top of the right side of your mouth,” Brock grumbled back rolling his eyes not liking that Rusty wasn’t trusting him to yank his tooth out.

“Stop, time out,” Rusty moaned loudly shoving at his boyfriend, “Get the fuck off me.”

Brock growled at him but complied to his request allowing his boyfriend to get up from the bed and begin pacing in a circle around the bed, taking deep breaths and wringing his fingers trying to calm his nerves.

“That’s half a bottle of jack still in the fridge,” Brock said to him but Rusty was barely listening continuing to pace, “You can drink some of that before I yank it out.”

“I don’t want those things in my mouth,” Rusty finally mumbled taking a quick glance at the plyers before looking away, “Just punch me really hard.”

“Babe, I’m not punching you in the face,” Brock snickered but sobered watching Rusty begin his pace once more. 

“I don’t want those things in my mouth!” Rusty whined dangerously close to breaking down, the plyers were upsetting him, Brock could tell but he didn’t know what else he wanted him to do. They needed to yank the tracking device out, if they didn’t, well they would just be caught by Team Venture before they got out of the state. 

“How do you suggest we get the tooth out then?”

“I suggested you punch me in the face, but you don’t seem to want to do that,” Rusty grumbled out stopping in his tracks and taking uneven breaths before opening the mini fridge and taking the bottle of jack out, carefully swishing the content with a flick of his wrist measuring how much there was.

“And what? Lose more then one tooth? Babe, come on, stop being a freaking cry baby and let me do this.”

“You need me, mister,” Rusty sneered his way, “Without me, you get nothing and will have to do what your mom wants you to do and join the OSI’s crusade. We do this shit my way or you can just go get killed by a weirdo in a Snake costume.”

“Fine, I’ll go join OSI and you can just go back to your dad and be alone,” Brock sneered back and Rusty just glared hard at him before turning towards the window. His heart rate was already high, but it seemed to sky rocket at the idea of Brock leaving him and being gone forever.

“I’m gonna chug this entire bottle,” Rusty finally began taking a deep breath staring down at the bottle in his shaking hands, “And you are going to grab me, pin me to the bed and just yank it out. Don’t give me time to relax, just do it.”

Brock shrugged at the idea, it wasn’t the worst thing ever and they were already behind schedule. Might as well just yank that band aid off.

Brock watched his boyfriend tip the bottle against his lips and knew he didn’t have that much time before that bottle would be empty. He prepared himself quickly, taking the plyers in his hands and straightening himself up ready to pounce the man the second he finished.

Rusty stood there a moment, tense waiting to be yanked back and man handled but was given a moment to take a breath, dropping the bottle on the ground in a pile of laundry that still needed to be packed and put all his focus on a nest of baby birds that had made a home on their window sill. He began to wonder what it was like to have a family that loved and cherished you watching the mother bird nuzzle her head against her newly hatched chick when he felt his boyfriend grab his waist and toss him onto the mattress.

He bounced against the mattress, disoriented from the liquor but had no time to get himself together as his very large boyfriend forced his weight on him temporarily taking his breath and making him moan out his protests, changing his mind all at once as Brock’s large fingers pried his mouth open and the glint of metal caught his eye.

He gurgled out protests, but Brock just forced his mouth open more, easily holding it open uncomfortably wide. 

His arms were pinned against his side under his boyfriend’s weight and it was impossible to move, he could do little more then let Brock do what he wanted. 

He didn’t even feel the tooth get yanked out, his panic overriding all his other emotions. He gently felt his boyfriend pulling him up and resting him against his chest as he sobbed, wrapping his now freed arms around his chest. He heard Brock telling him something, but the words were fuzzy and he couldn’t really understand them.

He felt him kiss him on the head a few times before laying him back down, gently pulling his mouth open again, making his heart race increase again as he shoved something smooth and fuzzy where his tooth had been before gently kissing him on the forehead.

When he regained consciousness later, he was reclined in the passenger side of Brock’s car, the strong smell of cigarettes making him nauseous.

He curled himself tight against the door, not ready to face his boyfriend after the childish way he had reacted to something they had agreed needed to be done.

Brock didn’t say anything to him, gently resting his hand on his head, messing with his messy ponytail a minute before putting his attention back on the road.

He pulled himself up enough to rest his head against the window and see they were leaving Colorado behind them.

There was no turning back now.

\---

Rusty hadn’t realized how truly sheltered he had always been until he was really out of the world his father had made.

They had been staying with Brock’s younger brother who had recently been trying to break into the underground technology game, selling tech to wannabe heroes and arches alike but well the problem was Brock’s brother Charlie was an idiot. He was a giant jock more suited for ripping men’s throats out then making complex machinery but he thought he had a chance in this game after he taped a knife to a vacuum cleaner and his stoner friend had somehow weaponized that and went three rounds against a seasoned pro hero.

It ended tragically of course, his friend still in the hospital likely not going to make much longer but Charlie considered it a victory. When he heard his brother was messing around with a Venture, he thought he would change both of their lives.

So far, he had only changed Rusty’s life.

No longer did he have his father’s money or robots to do basic house work for him or any of the material things he had realized he took for granted when he was a pawn in father’s game.

Rusty now had to cook and clean while the Samsons worked during the day, Rusty now had to do without whatever took his fancy and Rusty had to actually see a project through. They had a dead line they needed to meet, Charlie somehow weaseled his way into an auction and they now had to have something to present to it or they would be black listed before they had a chance to get their foot into the underground.

Rusty found himself grumbling every curse word he knew as he scrubbed hard at the kitchen floor, on his hands and knees like a commoner trying to scrub the grime away tired of waking up to cockroaches and vermin.

On the counter his blue prints were still laid out, ready for revisions so he could start the first design but that had to wait until he got the blood splatter off the ground. One of Charlie’s ‘friends’ had bled out here last night and Rusty couldn’t stand the sight of the splatter anymore. 

The only thing that never changed in his life was the violence. It was just always going to be here. Only this time he had to clean up the blood that stained the floor.

He stopped, what was he doing here?

One phone call and he could go home. He could go back to school. He could have his nice things back, go back to drinking and doing drugs just cause he was bored.

He could go back to being alone, being a porcelain doll, everyone just glued back together and stuck back up high on the shelf. 

He could go back to not having Brock here to hold him through the nightmares and make him feel safe and wanted. 

He could go back to just having the violence but no one to protect him from it and make sure no one ever hurt him.

He grit his teeth and scrubbed harder before turning back to the design, he could do this. He didn’t need his dad.

\----

“Is this a Mardi Gras mask?”

The Samsons were laughing at his choice in costume but he stood his ground, folding his arms firmly and glaring towards them.

“We are going to an auction with like super villains and heroes and shit, right?”

“Babe, I know you worked hard on these or whatever but come on,” Brock snickered picking up one of the hand made glittering masks before tossing it back on the table, “Our image is going to be wrapped up in this. You want everyone to see us and think we are going to start handing beads or some shit out?”

“What? Did you just want to wear ski masks?” Rusty sneered at the brothers who just glared hard at him.

“I worked hard to get us there! We are not---”

Rusty cut Charlie off, jabbing his finger straight into his large chest and saying loudly and firmly.

“This is my invention! You two will wear the suits and masks I made or you can present your own shit!” 

“Yeah that’s what I thought, its either my way or you can pull out the Stab – You – Vac again for another disastrous performance.”

“Just so we are clear here, the Stab – You – Vac almost took down Captain freaking Sunshine, what the hell can your force field belt even do? Last I checked it barely worked.”

“It barely did anything! Your idiot friend just got lucky it was like midnight and Sunshine’s powers were down and he had a big blunt object with a bunch of knives glued to it…”

“And if you don’t remember, once Sunshine’s friends showed up, your idiot friend got such an ass kicking, he is a vegetable now!”

Charlie snarled loudly grabbing Rusty by his shirt and slamming him against the counter. He looked ready to kill Rusty and well, Rusty wasn’t in that much of a position to stop him if he wanted to.

He tensed but he didn’t drop his glare, if he was going to die he wasn’t going out crying that was for sure.

Brock however didn’t seem to care Charlie was blood and had already made up his mind no one was allowed to touch Rusty.

He punched his brother out with one hit, knocking him to the floor and pulling Rusty behind him when his brother gave him a murderous look after touching his broken nose.

“Get the fuck out!” Charlie snarled.

Brock didn’t say anything, he just grabbed Rusty firmly and pulled him out the door with him. Brock had already shoved Rusty into the car as his brother came out still screaming threats tossing their belongings out with him, promising they weren’t getting into the auction tomorrow night. 

Rusty sucked in a nervous breath as he watched Brock shove his brother back into the small run down trailer, Charlie still yelling but Brock still not saying a word.

Rusty gave a nervous wave to the drug dealer next door he sometimes bought pot from and he just as nervously waved back.

This had not been the first fight like this, Charlie could get violent when he wanted to, put two of his former girlfriends in the hospital and Brock had made it clear when they moved in he wasn’t allowed to touch Rusty. And well, he finally broke that rule tonight because of Rusty’s mouth, so it looked like they no longer had a place to live.

He watched a young woman who worked in the strip club off the freeway look nervously towards the Samson residence before running into her own trailer, slamming and locking the door behind her.

Brock came back out a few moments later shoving some stuff in the trunk, the few things to their name fit neatly into one medium sized box, what a world Rusty had entered into.

Brock got in the driver side a few moments later lighting up a cigarette. He didn’t look like he wanted to talk, so Rusty said nothing letting him crank up the radio full blast and drive around for a few hours to calm down.

“We aren’t doing this with Charlie anymore,” he finally said.

“Can we still get in the auction without his connection?” Rusty mumbled not making eye contact with his boyfriend.

“Yeah Charlie agreed to give me his contact finally, we can do this on our own.”

“Babe?” 

Rusty glanced over at Brock looking more vulnerable then he had ever seen him, gripping the steering wheel hard enough to break it, just staring off at the cars driving past them from the truck stop he had pulled off into.

“Yeah?”

“Do you regret coming out here with me?”

“I don’t know yet,” Rusty finally admitted putting his hand on Brock’s, “The sex is great as always but haven’t been a fan of the poverty.”

Rusty was feeling bold he supposed as he crawled on top of Brock and began kissing him. A little car sex was just always the thing to get their mind off stress.

\---

Rusty sat nervously in front of the dressing room mirror, brushing his hair and just glancing at the poorly made unicorn mask he had made himself. His white tux was the only thing that was clean about him, he hadn’t properly bathed in three days since they had taken to living in Brock’s car.

Brock stood by the door, knife in one hand and his dragon mask clenched between his fingers.

It was really happening, they were about to go up on a stage and try to sell one of his inventions to the highest bidder.

Rusty was so nervous he was sure that if they had been able to eat today he would be throwing up right now. 

The knock at the door made him jump, he glanced back at Brock then towards the clock, it wasn’t time yet.

“Let them in Brock,” he said somehow keeping his words steady. 

A man who looked strikingly similar to David Bowie stepped through the door making Rusty jump from his seat.

“Its alright, I shall not slay your unicorn nor do I seek to put him in captivity,” the man chuckled at Brock who had his large knife against his throat. Rusty shook his head towards Brock and Brock finally lowered his weapon allowing the man to fully enter the room.

“When they told me Rusty Venture was here, I didn’t believe them,” he said with a chuckle, “I had to see it with my own eyes that our boy had grown up and was up to no good.”

He stepped towards Rusty and gently cupped his cheeks titling his head a little to get a better look at him before smiling and stepping away.

“Who the hell are you?” Rusty hissed at him putting some distance between them and catching from the reflection in the mirror Brock was stepping closer to them, “I sure as hell didn’t tell anyone my real name.”

“Do you think no one would know?” the man’s smirk only grew at the pure terror that was stretching across Rusty’s face, “No one would come to seek your father’s bounty? No one would come to see the prodigal son try to step into villainy? A dollar store mask doesn’t cover up who you are.”

“Your boyfriend’s brother was running his mouth that he had a Venture doing his dirty work.”

Brock glanced away rubbing the side of his head showing he knew his brother had done that.

“I came with an offer, I had to have you once I knew what you were up to.”

Rusty opened his mouth, an insult already at the tip of his tongue but the man shook his head, raising his hand to silence him and Rusty was surprised that was all it took to keep him from starting. Maybe it was his nerves.

“I want to only help you Rusty, I want to make you a star, reinvent your image.”

He made a face running his fingers through his greasy hair and shaking his head, gently taking his arm and stretching it out, shaking his head once more seeing how loosely the suit fit him. Rusty yanked away glaring hard, not liking the way he was being scrutinized.

“Who are you?” Rusty repeated more firmly.

“Sorry, awfully rude of me,” the man said with a shake of the head and a chuckle, “You see Rusty, you and I aren’t strangers. You just don’t quite remember me, do you?”

“You kidnap me in the past?”

“Not my style,” he said with a shake of his head, “You and I met when you were a scared little boy who didn’t think this world was fair. I passed Rusty’s Law just for you, but your father had to ruin it throwing out many of the clauses that would make it illegal to put a child in this line of work at all.”

Rusty was so pale now he was almost transparent, gently backing until he hit Brock who pulled him close to him, sending a threatening look the man’s way.

“I want you to join the Guild, Rust. I want to help you. Protect you from the people out there tonight who just want to hurt you.”

He pulled a business card from his pocket and placed it in Rusty’s hand, gently forcing his stiff fingers to hold on to it.

“Come to us when you are ready, Thaddeus. Don’t waste your potential on the garbage here tonight.”

He gave them a smile and thanked them for their time before sauntering back out the way he came.

\---

Rusty didn’t stick around to sell his invention that night, he caught up with the mysterious man and he and Brock left with him that night to join the Guild.

**Author's Note:**

> I had to finally cut myself off before I made a giant AU, but I hope you enjoyed!


End file.
